Latest news with #AndersenAirForceBase
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Guam governor visits Taiwan, US territory would play key role in China invasion scenario
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan this week is hosting the governor of Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero is making her first trip to the self-governing island democracy since taking office in 2019. In that time China has significantly boosted its threat to invade Taiwan with new ships, missiles and warplanes. Military planners usually include Guam in their war gaming due to the large amount of U.S. troops and hardware it hosts. Though Taiwan and the U.S. have no military treaties or even diplomatic ties, Washington is expected to respond to any Chinese attack and use Guam as a staging point for many of those operations. The island hosts about 9,700 members of all main branches of the U.S. military. Guam is located east of the Philippines, about 4,750 kilometers (3,000 miles) from the Chinese mainland, putting it within range of Chinese ballistic missiles, including those fired from submarines. Previous crises involving China and the U.S. over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, have sparked minor panics on Guam, with many people wondering whether the island would become a target for Chinese missiles. Guam has been an important military outpost since World War II, dominated by Andersen Air Force Base and its many outlying installations. There also is a robust naval and marine presence with about 30% of the territory's land occupied by U.S. military installations. Guerrero arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and is due to stay through Saturday. She is scheduled to meet with President Lai Ching-te and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, visit the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and meet with several local mayors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Tourism, health care and fisheries also will be on her agenda, according to the Foreign Ministry. Residents of Guam are U.S. citizens, although they are not allowed to vote in presidential elections. Taiwan has worked hard of late to reinforce its relations with South Pacific Territories against inroads from China.
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Guam governor visits Taiwan, US territory would play key role in China invasion scenario
Taiwan this week is hosting the governor of Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero is making her first trip to the self-governing island democracy since taking office in 2019. In that time China has significantly boosted its threat to invade Taiwan with new ships, missiles and warplanes. Military planners usually include Guam in their war gaming due to the large amount of U.S. troops and hardware it hosts. Though Taiwan and the U.S. have no military treaties or even diplomatic ties, Washington is expected to respond to any Chinese attack and use Guam as a staging point for many of those operations. The island hosts about 9,700 members of all main branches of the U.S. military. Guam is located east of the Philippines, about 4,750 kilometers (3,000 miles) from the Chinese mainland, putting it within range of Chinese ballistic missiles, including those fired from submarines. Previous crises involving China and the U.S. over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, have sparked minor panics on Guam, with many people wondering whether the island would become a target for Chinese missiles. Guam has been an important military outpost since World War II, dominated by Andersen Air Force Base and its many outlying installations. There also is a robust naval and marine presence with about 30% of the territory's land occupied by U.S. military installations. Guerrero arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and is due to stay through Saturday. She is scheduled to meet with President Lai Ching-te and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, visit the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and meet with several local mayors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Tourism, health care and fisheries also will be on her agenda, according to the Foreign Ministry. Residents of Guam are U.S. citizens, although they are not allowed to vote in presidential elections. Taiwan has worked hard of late to reinforce its relations with South Pacific Territories against inroads from China.
Associated Press
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Guam governor visits Taiwan, US territory would play key role in China invasion scenario
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan this week is hosting the governor of Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero is making her first trip to the self-governing island democracy since taking office in 2019. In that time China has significantly boosted its threat to invade Taiwan with new ships, missiles and warplanes. Military planners usually include Guam in their war gaming due to the large amount of U.S. troops and hardware it hosts. Though Taiwan and the U.S. have no military treaties or even diplomatic ties, Washington is expected to respond to any Chinese attack and use Guam as a staging point for many of those operations. The island hosts about 9,700 members of all main branches of the U.S. military. Guam is located east of the Philippines, about 4,750 kilometers (3,000 miles) from the Chinese mainland, putting it within range of Chinese ballistic missiles, including those fired from submarines. Previous crises involving China and the U.S. over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, have sparked minor panics on Guam, with many people wondering whether the island would become a target for Chinese missiles. Guam has been an important military outpost since World War II, dominated by Andersen Air Force Base and its many outlying installations. There also is a robust naval and marine presence with about 30% of the territory's land occupied by U.S. military installations. Guerrero arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and is due to stay through Saturday. She is scheduled to meet with President Lai Ching-te and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, visit the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and meet with several local mayors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Tourism, health care and fisheries also will be on her agenda, according to the Foreign Ministry. Residents of Guam are U.S. citizens, although they are not allowed to vote in presidential elections. Taiwan has worked hard of late to reinforce its relations with South Pacific Territories against inroads from China.
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Forbes
The Wiretap: Drone Videos Of U.S. Military Bases Were Posted On YouTube, FBI Says
The Wiretap is your weekly digest of cybersecurity, internet privacy and surveillance news. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here. The entrance to Andersen Air Force Base at Yigo in Guam. It was one of two sites that were filmed by a YouTuber with a drone, the FBI says. (Photo by ED JONES / AFP) AFP via Getty Images In February, Homeland Security Investigations had a tip for the FBI. On YouTube, agents had found someone openly posting aerial footage of the U.S. Marine Corps base Camp Blaz that were shot with a drone. This was a serious concern, given that the airspace above the base was restricted due to national security reasons. Investigators got data from Google's YouTube, which helped them identify a suspect, Billy Cruz, who mostly posts videos on issues to do with life on the island via his PlanetGuam channel. Cruz has been indicted, though has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating national defense airspace and failing to register a drone with the Federal Aviation Administration. It wasn't the first time Cruz had allegedly used a drone to publish footage of a Defense Department facility, according to a search warrant reviewed by Forbes. He did the same when he flew a drone into restricted airspace over Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in January 2021, the FBI said. According to the warrant, which permitted the FBI to search the suspect's residence and Harley Davidson motorcycle, Cruz was interviewed after that incident and agreed to not to take footage over a DOD base again. Given both incidents, and the long held concern about unmanned aerial machines being used for surveillance, it's perhaps a surprise that the Guam bases didn't have better anti-drone measures in place. Both have strategic importance to American defense in the pacific region, especially in relation to China's threat to Taiwan and North Korea. Andersen has long been a vital site for maintaining a presence near East Asia for over 50 years. Camp Blaz, meanwhile, was only opened in 2023, and is currently being built up with substantial funds being provided by Japan. Earlier this week, the first batch of marines and sailors were welcomed into its barracks. Got a tip on surveillance or cybercrime? Get me on Signal at +1 929-512-7964. (Photo by) 2017 Getty Images In a letter to the SEC, Coinbase disclosed on Thursday that hackers bribed some of its overseas employees for customer data, and then demanded a $20 million ransom for it. The crypto exchange didn't pay and is instead offering the same amount for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the hackers. As a result of this incident, Coinbase is now forecasting up to $400 million in 'remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements.' Those employees caught handing over user data, which included passport images and addresses, were immediately fired, the company said. FBI director Kash Patel has closed a watchdog that looked out for abuses of its national intelligence-focused work, sources tell the New York Times. That included oversight of the FBI's use of a controversial surveillance power, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for snooping on Americans' communications with individuals and organizations outside of the U.S. The FBI is also warning about hackers impersonating senior U.S. officials in AI-generated voice messages, which first build some rapport with a target before trying to convince them to click on malicious links. In one series of attacks, the FBI said the hackers pretended to get the targets to move onto a new messaging platform, and used the process to try to get access to their legitimate accounts. BreachRx, a startup hoping to challenge cyber incident response giants like Google's Mandiant, has announced a $16 million Series A funding round led by Ballistic Ventures. Among its other high profile investors are Mandiant founder, Kevin Mandia, who is now on the BreachX board, while former New York Times lead cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth has been named a board observer. The U.K.'s Legal Aid Agency was hacked, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who applied to get free legal support for civil and criminal cases. Leaked data reportedly included applicants' name, address, criminal history and some financial details.
